Waters has been a find for Patriots

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on November 16, 2011, 8:35 AM EST

AP

The Patriots’ offseason pickups that got the most attention haven’t done well.

Albert Haynesworth is now in Tampa. Even when Chad Ochocinco finally made a few plays on Sunday night, he spent the second half of the game on the sideline because he’s not part of the no huddle offense.

The Patriots did pick up a couple very valuable veteran pieces via free agency, though. Andre Carter was easily the team’s best pass rusher even before picking up 4.5 sacks on Sunday. He has nine for the season.

On offense, guard Brian Waters has helped to stabilize an offensive line that is playing without center Dan Koppen. SI’s Peter King put Waters on his All Pro team and some believe he’s outplayed teammate Logan Mankins this year.

“He’s earned every bit of his respect here,” said Bill Belichick Tuesday via CSNNe.com. “He’s tough, he’s a good football player. He’s really made some outstanding plays, individual plays that you don’t see many other players at that position make. He’s a high-quality player and a high-quality individual. He’s very unselfish, team-oriented.”

Waters, a former NFL Man of the Year, faces his old team the Chiefs on Monday night. When Waters struggled to find a job right after the lockout, there was some speculation that his involvement in lockout matters hurt his chances of getting a gig.

There’s no way to know if that’s true, but clearly Waters had a lot of football left.

I think he took it personally when teams weren’t interested in him. His play had slipped some and KC drafted his replacement back in 2010, so the writing was on the wall there. But it’s not like he was washed up.

It made no sense that teams weren’t bidding on him when he hit the market.

I’m really psyched to see the effort Waters has brought to the Pats. He picked everything up on short time, and is playing like a veteran that wants to win.

I wish this attitude would rub off on some of the other veteran acquisitions that seem to think this is still 2004 and a Super Bowl will fall in their lap as long as they just tie their cleats and sign their paychecks (looking at you Shaun Ellis).

He’s played very well last year with the Chiefs, and has been an all-pro. They just didn’t want to pay him when they had Asamoah a 2nd rounder last year, ready to play. I don’t consider signing him a find when there where multiple teams interested in signing him.

For every Joey Galloway, there’s an Alge Crumpler. For every Ochocinco and Haynesworth, there’s Waters, Carter, and Anderson. There is no magic formula. Sometimes players have something left, sometimes they don’t.

Anytime you sign a veteran free agent you are rolling the dice. That’s especially true if the player has spent his career in one organization / system. It can be difficult to adjust to a new scheme.

The best personnel guys in the business, Thompson, Colbert, Newsome, Reese etc. have all made moves that didn’t pan out. What most Patriots fans appreciate about Belichick is that he’s not afraid to take a risk. He’s also not afraid to admit when his gamble is not performing as expected.

He has been really good, which is great for the Pats because I have been less than impressed with Logan Mankins. His play has declined for no reason this year. tons of false start penalties, run blocking has suffered and he has given up sacks.

But with Mankins signed long term I would love to see Waters back for a year or two after this to mold Marcus Cannon who is the future at RG for the Pats. Cannon is supposed to be activated this week from the PUP after fighting cancer.

They wanted to start Asamoah because Waters struggled last year in run blocking. He was and still is elite in pass pro. I’m sure they gave him the choice of backup job or cut and he chose to go find starting time somewhere else. I’m glad its worked out well for Waters as he is both a great person and a great football player.